<p>I went back through the old records for this race and my best pace was about 9:11 many years ago. That was before electronic tracking so that was my gun time. My estimate is that it took me two to three minutes to get to the starting line.</p>
<p>I think that I weighed about 175 pounds at the time. I think that I can get there by next year. Goal for next year will be 9:20.</p>
<p>MOfWC, smart decision. The bunny is not going anywhere where you will not be able to catch up to her. You will have a lot of crap to worry about in the coming week, so go easy on your body. If you are eligible for unemployment pay, apply for it. Heck, there is nothing shameful about getting that check - it is your money, after all. In my state, severance packages do not count as “income” to be eligible for the unemployment benefits, so one can apply as early as one week before the last day of employment. Your HR should be able to give you some tips on that. </p>
<p>BC, according to the stuff I read, your 9:50 pace at 190 lb is somewhat equivalent to 9:20-9:30 at 170 lb fitness- wise. So congrats again. I think you will do even better next year.</p>
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<p>ColoradoMom – If you get the pedometer, I suggest you take it with you to a local track and walk a mile and check how inaccurate it is. If nothing else, it ought to give you an adjustment factor – Of the three pedometers we own, all under-report distance or steps by at least thirty percent for me. I found it rather demoralizing until I figured that out.</p>
<p>MOWC – you’re in the midst of a loss, and I’m glad you’re easing up on some of the running goals at the moment. Losing a job has got to be a huge shock to your whole body and self, and it isn’t surprising that your body wants some time to grieve, too. Any chance you could get a massage?</p>
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<p>For me, improving results is just a matter of training.</p>
<p>The major limitation on training for me has been weight for quite some time - too much training and the knees complain. They are complaining far less today which means that I can train harder but then I run into the next limitations. This summer, it’s tennis. In the fall and spring, it could very well be work and family stress.</p>
<p>I think that we’re all rooting for idad to run a race as he has the fitness, aerobic conditioning and the ability to greatly improve in an area. He’s also very light now which makes for easier running. I did see people at the race last night that I’d guess were in their 70s and 80s. I have the race results databases including ages and I’m going to slice and dice the data this weekend.</p>
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<p>The problem is that I just really don’t believe that running is a good exercise for me. I mean, a little bit of jogging is something that a fit guy should be able to do and it certainly takes the interval cardio benefit of my hilly walks and kicks it up a notch. The only way I was going to continue to get signficant conditioning benefit out of my little 5K walks was to either go full-bore race-walking or start throwing in some jogging intervals. I’m a believer in interval training.</p>
<p>So, I’m pleased that I have been able to start doing a little jogging and I think these walk/jog intervals are beneficial. But, if I’m being smart about it, I’m looking for ways to keep mileage low, not increase it. it’s just statistically an unfavorable bet with a high injury risk. I don’t plan to do barbell back squats and conventional deadlifts either. Same reason.</p>
<p>Plus, after 38 years of smoking a pack or two a day, I really doubt that endurance cardio is ever going to be my thing. There’s a price to be paid for that. I count my lucky stars evertime I go out for a 5K stroll and don’t have to carry an oxygen bottle, and I’m amazed at the cardio progress I’ve made, but I’m also realistic. The last time I ran 2/10ths of a mile before I started these little walk/jog outings this spring was in the fall of 1971.</p>
<p>“all under-report distance or steps by at least thirty percent for me” - Wow. That’s a big difference from reality. At first I’ll probably only be checking step count, aiming to increase. Still have not rule out FitBit, on the hope I’ll get motivated to do more tracking.</p>
<p>I think there are two different types of products. The pedometers attach to the waist and try to simply count steps. There is a different product – an accelerometer that attaches to a running shoe and is capable of accurate distance measurement. The iPod+Nike product is in the later category as is the shoe sensor that is available for the Garmin GPS watches – for measuing distances run on a treadmill or in places where GPS isn’t reliable – tunnels, indoors, etc. These foot sensors can be calibrated on a track and are very accurate. I used the iPod version for quite a while and it was just as consistent on the same route as GPS (which has an occasional bad day). Both methods give a spread of 3.18 miles to 3.22 miles on a my standard route, both of which are plenty accurate for my purposes.</p>
<p>Another Friday workout. As usual, the third time through the week’s workout was stronger in some ways, but a little low on gas in others. I skipped one of the iPod nazi exercises – the V-Sit leg scissors. I’ve been feeling a little tightness in lower right side back muscles and this was the likely culprit. I knew as soon as I started it, that it was a no-go today. So I grabbed a 30 second rest and skipped it in all four sets. Otherwise, good strong core workout.</p>
<p>Strength was OK. Clean/squat/press was stronger. Did my four unassisted chinups in each of the three sets, but probably not quite as strong as Wednesday. Single leg deadlifts were just so-so.</p>
<p>All in all, I punched the clock!</p>
<p>Played 2+ hours of tennis - only two sets. Won 6-1, 6-5 (I screwed up the tie-breaker). The guy that I play regularly has been improving on strategy and tactics and he is picking up on my patterns and exploiting my weaknesses. My fitness makes up for a lot of tactical mistakes though. I suspect that he’s watching lots of tennis on TV and it’s amazing what you can pick up by watching the pros play.</p>
<p>I played with my soft frame (I used the stiff one on Wednesday) and my arm felt a lot better after the match than it does with the stiff frame. I’ll have to decide on one frame eventually. Flexible = comfortable + low power, stiff = uncomfortable + high power. It’s a common problem for older players in deciding what to do. In general, the top ten pro players go with flexible + low power as their livelihood depends on not getting injured. They have the fitness levels to hit well with low-powered racquets.</p>
<p>I need to get back to strength training. I have mainly been playing tennis and running and stretching - all good workouts but it’s not good to neglect the muscles.</p>
<p>4 1/2 mile hike to a pretty mountain lake. Beautiful day, not too strenuous, fortunately, as my hammies are definitely feeling it…</p>
<p>I’m off to the nearest REI to look for GU Brew. I was told that it tastes better than Gatorade and is just as helpful at replenishing electrolytes as the icky GU gels. I will let you know the results of my very scientific trial tomorrow. :)</p>
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<p>I can imagine. Some of the exercises you did in your workout are fantastic exercises, but maybe not ideal for such high reps. That many deadlifts would wipe out your hamstrings! </p>
<p>Of course, I shouldn’t talk. I’m pretty much sore all over right now. My hips are sore from the single leg deadlifts.</p>
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<p>I had good balance this week. Three core/strength workouts, one day of Airdyne bike intervals, and one day of walk/jog intervals. No swing/burpees workout this week, but iPod nazi hit me with both swings and burpees, so I got a few of those each day (48 swings and 20 burpees).</p>
<p>There were two guys playing on the adjacent court and one of them rolled onto the ground a few feet from our court and grimaced in pain. We asked him if he was all right and he told us that he had a cramp. I asked him if he had any Gatorade and his partner said yes and brought the bottle over to him. We’ve all had cramps before so we know what it is like but I haven’t actually seen anyone get cramps on the tennis court for a long time as it is generally known that you need to get enough electrolytes before playing tennis. He rested for a while and they then left.</p>
<p>I just prefer to get electrolytes from food. If I’m unsure, I eat a Clif Builder bar - I generally have them handy.</p>
<p>BC, I’m neither Kenyan nor Tarahumara to be able to pack enough electrolytes from food for my long run. 
18 miles was my electrolyte-less limit.</p>
<p>6 months ago today, after years of being a couch potato, I decided to try to reverse my middle aged spread. (I’m in my early 50s, 5’ 10".)</p>
<p>I weighed 218 lbs and had a 36" waist, today I weigh 171 lbs and have a 30" waist.</p>
<p>It has been a good year!</p>
<p>Very, very nice.</p>
<p>How did you get from there to here?</p>
<p>First thing I did was go to the Dr. for a physical, didn’t want to drop dead my first day.</p>
<p>From there it was the tried and true method of eating less and excercising more. I cut the junk calories out of my diet (sodas, chips, cookies, muffins, etc). I started slow with the stationary bike, 20 minutes every other day so that I didn’t get sore and discouraged.</p>
<p>Over time I increased the days and the time. A couple of months ago I added some strength training.</p>
<p>Now I work out every day. One day I will do 35 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength work and the next day I will do 55 minutes of cardio.</p>